


Nightmares of the Lonely Heart

by LostLoveLetters



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Drama, Dreams and Nightmares, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, On Hiatus, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-10 05:11:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6941248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostLoveLetters/pseuds/LostLoveLetters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - FDR. In which Natsume is plagued by nightmares, eliciting concern from his friends and loved ones. Are the nightmares caused by an unforeseen enemy? Or is Natsume his very own worst enemy?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An old unfinished fic (first fanfic ever) I thought I would publish here just for the sake of it....Enjoy! x)

_Dark. So dark._

He couldn't hear the voices calling out to him.

He couldn't feel the hands reaching towards him.

He couldn't breathe.

Oh, god, he couldn't _breathe._

His chest heaved with an inexplicable heaviness. His knees crumpled under the weight. The very air suffocated him.

He couldn't move. He couldn't _see_.

Panic clawed up his stomach and choked his throat. Everything felt so heavy. The rain blurred his vision.

 _No, no that wasn't right_ , he distantly realized. _Not rain. Tears. Tears?_

Fingers shakily crept up his cheeks and swiped at the dampness there. He blinked incredulously at the droplets that appeared on them.

 _His_ tears _._ He was _crying_.

He lifted his hand to wipe his eyes again, and then red streaked in the corner of his eye. He turned. His throat began to close up again at the sight. Blood bloomed, opening its petals of crimson, staining the white snow.

 _Oh god, so it wasn't a dream. They…They really did…Oh, god. No, no, no, no, no._ He _can't_ accept it. _No_.

Despair coiled in his stomach and slithered into his chest until it wrapped around his heart and squeezed viciously. White, hot blinding pain jolted throughout his whole body. _They're gone. Gon_ e. Gone. _Dead…._ His eyes burned.

He opened his mouth to ask ( _because this wasn't happening, right? Nothing but a dream. A nightmare. The goddamn yokai messing with him again._ ) but all he could hear was his own scream.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ah, the moon's beautiful tonight, isn't it?" Hinoe remarked, gesturing carelessly towards the bright lantern in the night sky. Her hairpin glimmered as it caught the soft beams of moonlight.

"Hmmph," Nyanko-sensei grunted as he swayed back and forth on his paws. He lifted his eyes towards the moon and gave a snort of derision. "You know what's really beautiful? Sake! Yup, sake ~" Nyanko declared as he swung the sake bottle back and forth. He grinned and waddled forward, humming an old tune completely off-key.

Hinoe rolled her eyes. "Uncultured furball", she muttered.

"Hey! What was that, you flowery freak! I heard that, you know," Nyanko scowled. "What are you even doing here? Don't you have things to do besides following me?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Madara. I wanted to see how Natsume's doing," Hinoe countered as she dangled her pipe in her fingers.

"Whatever. He's fine," Nyanko muttered. "All right! Second verse ~" and began singing again, much to Hinoe's irritation.

The two continued their bickering right until they reached the Fujiwaras' home. Leaping up to Natsume's bedroom door, Nyanko clumsily swatted the window open and clambered in. _Natsume's probably going to be annoyed again._ _Tcch, the brat._

"Natsume ~! Missed me? Flowery freak is here to see you. The sake is great tonight! Pity, you can't drink yet. Hey! Natsume! Are you listening? What, are you sleeping or something?"

Annoyed with the lack of response, he staggered towards the lump of blankets in the middle of the room. Pushing aside the covers, Nyanko realized that something was wrong. Natsume laid there, still and quiet. To the oblivious eye, he seemed at rest. To Nyanko's eyes, Natsume was far from peaceful slumber. His fists were clenched tightly, fingers biting into the flesh of the palm. Natsume's face, usually so calm and placid, contorted in pain-and _is that fear?_

Nudging closer, Nyanko could see tears steadfastly streaming on Natsume's cheeks. _Definitely not a dream then. A nightmare._ Nyanko sighed. Nightmares visited Natsume all too frequently these days, especially with all those annoying yokai visiting the brat for their names back, or worse yet for _help_.

 _Tcch_.

He jumped onto Natsume's chest and promptly began shaking Natsume. "Oi, brat! Wake up! You're having a nightmare. Oi, snap out of it!"

But much to Nyanko's surprise, instead of the usual punch and annoyed berating he would so indignantly receive from the ungrateful brat, there was only a harried panting echoing throughout the room. Natsume still slept on. In fact, the nightmare seemed to drag Natsume deeper in. As Nyanko peered curiously at him, Natsume's chest began heaving up. His breathing quickened in short, erratic pants.

 _Was Natsume hyperventilating?_ _What happened to him?_

Thump. An unforeseen force knocked Nyanko out of his reverie –and off his feet. "Hinoe!" he growled, annoyed.

"Get off! He needs to breathe. Do you know how heavy you are?" Hinoe complained as she pushed Nyanko off. "What's wrong with him?" Her eyebrows dipped slightly in concern as she gently thumbed Natsume's cheek. "Sweetie, wake up. It's just a dream." Natsume's mouth opened and Nyanko's ears perked up at the sound of mumbling. The two leaned in closer to Natsume to hear.

"Gone… _ **Gone**_ …No. _**No.**_ Gone… _Gone_. _**Dead**_ ".

With each word that tumbled out of Natsume's lips, his breath increasingly hitched until his mumbles blurred into a hysterical stream of broken sobs. Nyanko and Hinoe viewed the scene with growing alarm. Overcome with a desire to comfort the boy, Hinoe found herself reaching towards Natsume again, trying to soothe him with gentle touches and her soft voice. Still, Natsume's nightmare persisted. The two looked on helplessly as the nightmare reduced Natsume into a writhing mass of limbs.

"I don't smell anything unusual," Nyanko observed with a rare gaze of serious contemplation. He turned to Hinoe.

"This doesn't look like a spell or curse. That I know of, anyways". Her shrewd eyes surveyed Natsume as she puffed her pipe. "Does he have these dreams freq-?" A scream suddenly tore through the room. The sound reverberated, dragging goosebumps over her skin and leaving a foreboding sense of unease in their wake.

_God, the sheer amount of **pain and grief**. What kind of nightmare was Natsume even _ _**having** _ _?_

Hinoe fumbled for her pipe, fingers shakily lifting it up for another puff. The scream left even her, a yokai, trembling. And it seemed like she was not the only one affected.

Triggered by Natsume's scream, Nyanko tensed, fur bristling as if electrified by the sound itself. The calico-cat transformed into a white, furry beast with deadly claws and sharp, predatory eyes that exposed no sign of the drunkenness from before. Immediately, if not reflexively, Madara prowled towards Natsume, baring his fangs. Taking the hint, Hinoe smoothly stepped out of the way. Madara then curled his body in a protective circle around the boy. Snarling, he let out a deafening roar as a blinding light flooded the room.

**"Natsume!"**


	3. Chapter 3

Everything hurt.

Natsume felt so numb, so detached.

Was he standing or sitting?

Why was it cold?

Right, it was snowing. _Snowing, it was snowing, right?_

His throat felt scorched. Was he still screaming? He couldn't remember.

_Did it even matter anymore?_

He bit back another sob. He didn't want to be here. He wanted it to end.

_Make it stop, make it stop, make it STOP!_

A roar suddenly rang out in the air, so deafening loud that it flung him out of his growing hysteria. A blinding light surged before him. _Was someone calling his name?_ He reached out towards the sound with trembling fingers…and the scene before him erased itself completely.

* * *

Immediately, Natsume startled, jerking straight up from the blankets. He gasped. Blearily, he glimpsed something white and furry before him. _Was that…_ "Nyanko-sensei? I-is that you?" Natsume asked, voice quavering.

Madara turned to stare straight at him. " **Natsume** ".

With just that so familiar deep grumble, comfort and relief flooded Natsume. Before he realized what he was doing, Natsume found himself lifting his arms and hugging Madara, catching both of them by surprise. His surprise filtered through quickly, though. Natsume merely tightened his arms and pressed his cheek to the warm fur. Natsume could smell the sharp tang of sake oddly offset by an earthy musk. It was a scent that always seemed to accompany Nyanko-sensei and smelling it again, as strange as it sounded, brought consolation to Natsume.

Meanwhile, Madara shifted, uncertain how to react to the impromptu hug or rather more importantly, how to deal with an emotionally distraught Natsume. He could feel Natsume still trembling from the remnants of his nightmare. He could smell, even almost taste the fear that lingered in the air.

He growled. _That nightmare really did shake up the brat, didn't it?_

The brat had nightmares before; Madara knew that. Nightmares even that left the brat in a cold sweat and woke up Madara a countless amount of times. But on every occasion, the brat would merely avoid Madara's eyes and steel himself, breathing in and out until he calmed down. Never once did Natsume talk to Madara about his dreams, much less look to him for comfort afterwards. Never once did he **scream** like that. _He...really is scar-_

"That-that really was just a dream right?" Natsume asked, voice quaking once more with tears.

Disrupted from his inner debate, Madara gazed down. The sight of Natsume in his rumpled pajamas, the beseeching tone in his voice that spoke volumes on how badly the dream affected Natsume...

All of it was disquieting. Everything felt…

 **Wrong**.

Unbidden, a strong wave of protectiveness washed through Madara. In a rare show of affection, Madara lowered his head and gently nuzzled Natsume's head. " **It was a dream, Natsume. Just a dream. I'm here now, aren't I, kid?** "

Natsume nodded his head and mumbled, "Yeah."

His shuddering sobs gradually (thankfully) quieted into soft sniffles and Madara could feel him relax. He still didn't let go of Madara though…and Madara found no reason to discourage him to. If this was what the brat needed, then…so be it. Besides, Madara wasn't sure if he could have handled a heart-to-heart conversation anyways.

 _It was ironic that he, one of the strongest yokai around, a beast to be feared and revered, who believed that the strong ruled- er, well - ate the weak, was comforting a human, this stubborn, troublesome boy,_ Madara mused with a wry sigh.

As his eyes roved around the room, Madara caught Hinoe ( _Huh, she was still here._ ) standing in the corner of the room with an expression that wavered between surprise and soft affection. Raising an eyebrow, Hinoe smirked. _No doubt thinking the same things he was. Tcch._

Madara scowled. Before he could say anything, Hinoe raised a finger to her lips. With a wink and – _ugh_ \- another smirk, she slipped silently out of the window. No doubt, she would tease him about this tomorrow. Nah, knowing her, he'd never hear the end of it for an entire damn decade. _Whatever_. Madara groused to himself. He let his body go lax and yawned. _Might as well get comfortable here then._

Natsume, on the other hand, didn't notice Madara's turmoil. He was too focused on trying to calm down and to push the nightmare as far away from his mind as possible. Natsume did, however, notice that Madara had unconsciously curled his body even closer to Natsume.

 _Almost like a proxy hug,_ Natsume thought with a twinge of amusement. If this was any other time, he probably would have teased Nyanko-sensei about it, but he didn't want Nyanko-sensei to pull away. Surrounded like this, Natsume felt like he was encased in a cocoon of warmth and safety.

Yes, for now, Natsume was content to prolong this companionable silence that surfaced between the two of them.


	4. Chapter 4

_Mmn._ Natsume scratched his cheek. He could feel random patches of itchiness where his cotton pajamas chafed the skin. He kicked up his legs and shifted in irritation. _Too hot. Much too hot._ Natsume thought fuzzily. Natsume could feel a stifling heat smothering him from all directions. It was like the room was a pressure cooker, intent on steaming him alive.

Natsume huffed. He kept his eyes closed more tightly and promptly decided to ignore the sauna that his room had become. Determined to go back to sleep, Natsume turned from his side and laid flat on his back. Immediately, he grimaced at the feel of sticky perspiration on his back. Sighing in defeat, Natsume sat up reluctantly. Slowly, he cracked open his eyes.

 _Agh, too bright._ Dizzying dots of blue bombarded his vision. Natsume winced. Closing his eyes and then cautiously opening them again, he squinted, trying to make out the source of his irritation. The sun blazed through the window, flooding the room in a blindingly golden wash. Natsume frowned. _Did he leave the window open last night?_ He rubbed his eyes and slowly looked around him curiously. Stilling in surprise, Natsume stared uncomprehendingly at the mass of white fur in front of him. The gears of brain turned sluggishly before realization widened his eyes. Images of last night played through in his head as Natsume struggled to remember.

_Snow._

_Blood._

_Red. Red._

_Screaming himself hoarse._

_Cold._

_Light. Nyanko-sensei yelling his name._

Natsume breathed heavily. His fingers trembled at the memory of the snow, the blood, and the pure _fear_ that he felt in the nightmare. His heart beat skittishly, drumming so loudly through his veins that Natsume thought the sound would threaten to burst from underneath his skin and surely wake up the whole house. _No, no. Not good._

Even Natsume himself could realize that he was starting to panic again. He lurched up towards the doorway to head to the bathroom, all the while taking painstaking care to avoid waking up Nyanko-sensei.

Natsume hurriedly walked to the bathroom. Closing the door, Natsume immediately slumped down to the floor. His nerves tingled, making his stomach sway with unease. Natsume could feel his throat, already sore and hoarse, starting to choke up. His chest felt heavy and he could now distinctly hear his uneven pants echoing throughout the room. He held his head between his knees and breathed in deeply.

_In…_

_Out…_

_In…_

_Out..._

_In…_

_Out…_

Slowly but surely, his breathing evened out and his heart rate settled down. Natsume bit his lip. He hadn't suffered these episodes since he was a little kid, when he had just learned that he had to grapple with the pain of losing his parents and the juxtaposition of the human world and the youkai world.

Natsume then carefully stretched and stood up. Walking towards the sink, he splayed his palms out on its surface. The cold porcelain instantly soothed his burning skin, a comforting contrast. Peering up at the mirror, Natsume grimaced at his reflection. He looked completely worn out. His eyes were puffy and red. And his nose also sported a rosy red, no doubt from the crying last night. He reached out and turned on the faucet. Splashing some cold water onto his face, Natsume hoped that it would at least tone down the redness. He stared at his reflection again.

He really, really hoped that Touka-san and Shigeru-san would not notice that he had cried recently. Then again, Natsume supposed that he should be thankful that Shigeru-san and Touka-san went out to visit an old friend yesterday, and were unable to come home last night.

Natsume swallowed hard. If they had been home and they heard him _scream_ like that, he...he could only imagine the concerned looks on their faces, Plus, his own refusal to explain things would probably only increase their worries. To explain that he dreamed that they _died_ because of his interactions with the youkai…

And that the dream only confirmed his own worries…

That was a conversation he did not wish- no, that he was _determined_ not- to have. It would not be fair to burden them like that. Not with issues so outside of the normal mundane world.

Natsume clenched his fist. This could not happen again.

 _No. This family...this home…_ this was what he _treasured, what he would do anything to protect._

The nightmare, no, the dream was probably due to built-up stress and insecurities _,_ Natsume decided. He just needed to exert more control over himself. That was all. Maybe he would listen to Nyanko-sensei, for once, and pace himself in returning the names. He was fine. Things were fine. Or at least Natsume would make sure they would be.

Tugging at his sweat-soaked pajamas in distaste, Natsume decided taking a nice long shower would probably be a good first step in doing so.

* * *

Opening the door to his room, Natsume noted with some surprise that Nyanko-sensei was no longer there. _Hmm, did he wake up?_

He shrugged and continued to towel dry his hair. While digging in his drawers for a T-shirt and a pair of pants, Natsume stilled at the sudden metal clanging sound that rang throughout the house. His heart instantly pounded with sudden fear and he reflexively tensed his body. _Did something happen? Could it be a youkai intruding the house?_

He held his breath and craned his ears, praying that he would not hear any screams. That he was wrong.

The metal din was then accompanied by Nyanko-sensei's mewls and Shigeru-san's amused laughter. Lips curving in a faint grin and his body immediately going lax with pure relief, Natsume realized that Shigeru-san and Touka-san must have gotten back already.

Natsume glanced at the clock. It was about 1:30 in the afternoon now. He must have completely overslept...and taken a far longer shower than he expected. He clutched his chest and deeply exhaled. He was overreacting. Severely so. Natsume silently chastised himself.

It was probably for the best that Natsume hurried down though. Preferably before Nyanko-sensei made an utter nuisance of himself. Slipping on his clothes a little carelessly, Natsume then hastily brushed his hair. A quick glance towards a mirror revealed that although his face was no longer splotchy, he definitely still looked tired. Natsume sighed. _Oh, well. It could not be helped_ , he supposed.

* * *

"Natsume!" Touko-san's warm, cheerful voice greeted him as soon as he stepped into the dining area. With her bright brown eyes and familiar pink apron, Natsume could not help the sensation of comfort and nostalgia washing over him. His lips unknowingly curved in a relieved smile.

"Natsume?" He blinked in surprise as Touko-san's face appeared up close. She reached a hand towards his face, and with a look of slight concern, she asked, "Sweetie? You look a little pale. Did you get enough sleep?"

Before he could reassure her, Touko-san's motherly instincts were already on full alert. "Or maybe, you need more nutrients? Did you make sure to eat dinner yesterday? Oh dear, I think I've heard of a cold going around too. Takashi-kun, sweetie, how do you feel?"

She immediately felt his forehead, eyes creasing in concentration to confirm if he had a fever or not. "Maybe you should lay-"

Shirgeru-san's hearty laugh interrupted her, immediately drawing both Natsume's and Touko-san's attention towards him. "Dear, I think you're overwhelming him."

Touko-san pouted and opened her mouth to protest before Shigeru-san continued, "I believe that Takashi is just still sleepy."

Touko-san tilted her head in confusion. Shigeru-san then smiled and gestured towards Natsume's still wet hair. Natsume immediately understood what he meant. With a sheepish grin, he scratched the back of his neck.

Touko-san immediately widened her eyes in realization. Raising her hands to her face in embarrassment, she giggled. "Oh goodness, me! I think I got too far ahead of myself."

She swiveled around and faced Natsume. "You must be hungry by now! I'll cook up something quick for you."

"Oh, Touko-san. You don't have-"

Before Natsume could stop her, Touko-san marched to the kitchen with a cheerful hum.

Shigeru-san waved his hand dismissively. "No, no. Let her. It makes her happy to do these things for you, you know."

At Natsume's tentative nod, he continued, "Come, sit! Sit!"

Natsume smiled, knowing it was futile to resist. He walked forward to the dining table and pulled out a chair. A quick glance towards the table told him that Shigeru-san was having his usual cup of tea with his newspaper.

Or at least Shigeru-san _would_ be reading the newspaper if it was not for a certain calico cat who was currently lounging on it as a makeshift pillow.

Nyanko-sensei curled his tail around himself and closed his eyes, the picture of innocence and ignorance…or so it seemed. The slight twitching of Nyanko- sensei's eyes revealed that he definitely was not sleeping and was doing this on purpose to annoy Natsume. Natsume narrowed his eyes. Fully intending to shoo Nyanko-sensei away, Natsume reached out his hands and half stood up- only to be stopped by Shigeru-san himself.

With a good natured grin, Shigeru san remarked, "Ah, it's fine, Takashi. Nyangoro seems very comfortable there." He laughed. "I'd hate to disturb his rest."

After seeing that Shigeru-san truly was not bothered by it, Natsume conceded and sat down again. However, he could see Nyanko-sensei cracking open an eye and smirking, smug at the little victory. Natsume rolled his eyes. _Really, Nyanko sensei?_ He turned to face Shigeru-san. With a slight smile, Natsume apologized. "I'm sorry for his behavior. You really don't have to be all that considerate of him."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Natsume could tell that Nyanko-sensei was responding with an eye-roll of his own. He mentally grinned.

Shigeru-san laughed again, dismissing Natsume's words. Instead, he leaned forward and with a conspiratorial wink, Shigeru-san asked, "It's fine. Now how about you tell me why you're waking up so late in the afternoon. It's not like you to oversleep. Did you stay up late playing games or watching T.V.?"

Natsume felt a little nervous at being prompted to reveal the reason for his tired state. He masked it with a sheepish grin and instead decided to play along with Shigeru-san's assumptions. "Something like that. Sorry."

Far from rebuking him, however, Shigeru-san laughed merrily and merely stated, "Boys will be boys. Don't worry, I won't tell Touka-san. And besides, it is not a school day. It's fine. Really."

He paused, and deliberated silently for a second before casually stating, "Although it is odd."

Natsume's eyes widened slightly in worry and surprise. "Odd?"

Shigeru-san nodded. "Mmm, don't you have that bike ride later this afternoon? With your friends? You might be too tired for it."

Natsume raised a hand to his head and groaned. _How could he have forgotten?_ He had agreed to a bike ride on Sunday with Nishimura and Kitamoto.

At Natsume's expression, Shigeru-san realized that Takashi had completely forgotten about the appointment. He shook his head, admittedly entertained since Takashi, so serious for his age, was usually very on top of things. Maybe this was a sign that Takashi was starting to let down his barriers and act more naturally.

Shigeru-san smiled. He really wanted Takashi to be able to experience his youth in its entirety, without having to think and consider the repercussions of every action. There was such a thing as too much considerateness. He simply wished for Takashi to be happy.

Shigeru-san reached out and ruffled Natsume's hair. He joked. "Oh? Did you forget? Leave the forgetfulness to us old people."

Natsume smiled in response. "I'll keep that in mind. I think I can still make the bike ride though."

"Bike ride?" Touko-san asked as she began to set the soup and the dumplings down on the table.

As Shigeru-san happily recounted the version, Natsume was content to eat while listening to the comforting tones of Shigeru-san's voice and Touko-san's joyful laughs.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nyanko-sensei surveyed the scene with a contrasting mixture of relief and irritation. He had seen and heard what happened to the brat in the morning. He scoffed. _Did the kid truly think that he could just sneak by a youkai, as magnificent as himself, without waking up or alerting him? After all, he was the great Madara, was he not?_

Thinking about it sent another pulse of hot irritation through him-and made his tail involuntarily flick from side to side angrily. Sure, he was sleeping. But when the brat woke up, with a quick heartbeat and uneven breathing, he immediately woke up. Detecting a person's presence was a necessary skill for a hunter-er, bodyguard- after all. He feigned sleep only because he knew Natsume needed time to be alone. _But ah, wasn't that the problem?_

When Natsume walked into the dining room, he could tell that Natsume was visibly relieved by the presence of Touko and Shigeru. It was evident in the way Natsume relaxed his body and could still laugh to Shigeru-san's jokes. But, he did not forget the way Natsume evaded the questions.

Nyanko-sensei scowled. The brat was always, _always_ carrying all of his burdens by himself. _Tcch_.

That predilection was irritating. Natsume did not like troubling others with his problems.

 _Well, he was already troubled by the kid's problems!_ Nyanko-sensei mentally growled. The kid, by tackling all of his problems by himself, made it harder for him to be a bodyguard! Did Natsume not get that?!

Sure, he still thought it was a complete waste to return the names when you could _use_ the names. You know for power, entertainment, and whatnot. And ok, yes, he really, _really_ would have much rather eaten the puny, annoying youkai who came to beseech Natsume to help them. He was a predator, damn it! The instinct to hunt came naturally with his position at the top of the food chain.

He was _supposed_ to be feared.

You incited fear by threatening to eat them for dinner. No one had ever said that oh, to strike fear in the hearts of the stupid idiots, you should threaten to give to charity and _help_ them!

At this point, Nyanko-sensei had jumped off the table and was currently pacing back and forth on the ground, too caught up in his rant to notice.

He was severely underappreciated for his work.

Had he eaten any one of the youkai who came to get their names back?

No. Reluctantly so. But no.

Would that made things easier in the end? Yes! Goddamn yes!

He couldn't count the number of times those stupid youkai had either threatened Natsume before realizing that the boy was more than willing to return their names or had gotten Natsume into some stupid dilemma.

Or god forbid, because he was apparently not understanding enough, Natsume would neglect to inform him of his decision to continue helping a youkai or pursue some quest that he had explicitly told Natsume that it wasn't worth getting into.

Or that it was too suspicious.

That it was too dangerous.

But did the boy listen?

No!

So stubborn for a mere human. Natsume would still persist in helping them.

What did that give him? A lot of damn unnecessary work.

He would have to track down the insolent culprits and Natsume. Then arrive just in the nick of time to save Natsume from being eaten or worse. (And yeah, so he may have gotten _a little_ distracted by the beautiful temptation that was sake. But if the kid was more obedient and _listened_ to him once in a while, he was pretty sure he could afford to take drinking breaks without having to risk a missing Natsume and then presumably, deal with a hostage situation).

But he magnificently refrained from eating them on the spot, didn't he?

Even though they were practically asking for it. Nyanko-sensei muttered angrily under his breath. Daring to put a hand on _his_ prey.

Some of the youkai were definitely getting more foolish nowadays. One of these days, he'll have to go on a rampage to reestablish his name and reputation and remind everyone just why he should not be crossed.

And why?

All because the boy was all too nice for his own good.

But hey, he and Natsume had made a deal. He'd protect Natsume and Natsume would give him the Book of Names in the end. Although at this point, Nyanko-sensei internally complained, all he would be getting would be the cover page and the back page- and that was _if_ he was lucky.

So all that saving the lesser youkai business?

That was not him going soft.

That was not compassion.

That was _professionalism._

Nyanko-sensei sighed. The kid was so much trouble. He took on so much more than he needed to. In fact, Nyanko-sensei had the sinking feeling that if he passed out-er he meant- _deigned_ to return from his drinking escapade and had not been there to witness Natsume's nightmare, he would never have known.

Nyanko-sensei then stilled. Did...did he just send a significant portion of time complaining about _Natsume_? He shook his head promptly. Nope. _Nope._ Argh, no wonder people thought he was going soft. Nope, he was just…deliberating the schematics of Natsume's situation, which was what any competent bodyguard would do.

With a languorous stretch, Nyanko sensei yawned. Well, now that he did his hard work of the day, he could focus on other things, Nyanko-sensei grinned, like helping Natsume finish his dumplings. With that in mind, he jumped up to Natsume's plate, sparking Natusme's cries of alarm and Shigeru-san's and Touka-san's amusement. As he munched on a stolen dumpling, Nyanko-sensei had to admit, if there was one benefit to this job, it was Touko-san's cooking.

* * *

Natsume closed his eyes. It was nice out. The weather signaled the beginning of summer. A lone breeze twirled through the spring green leaves of the nearby trees. Looking up from canopy of the overhanging branches, he could see brilliant blue patches of sky. The sun shone fiercely, weaving golden threads throughout the forest. The scene brought to him a deep sense of peace that he had been sorely missing. Natsume reveled in the feeling of freedom, the slap of the wind on his face as he rode on his bike.

Or at least he was until his feline passenger, who was sitting in the basket, began his unneeded commentary. "Oi! Natsume! Stop paying attention to the trees. And pay attention to the road!" Nyanko-sensei rebuked. "I'm too young to die a victim from your reckless driving."

Natsume rolled his eyes and retorted, "I'm riding a bicycle, not driving. And besides, Nyanko-sensei, aren't you at least a hundred years old?"

Nyanko-sensei swiveled around to face him. "Riding, driving. Same difference. You're on the road regardless. Be responsible." He paused for a moment and then continued, "I am older than you, so what's with your attitude, huh? You should respect your elders, Natsume!"

Natsume laughed. "Whatever you say, Nyanko-sensei."

Nyanko-sensei drolly remarked, "How sincere of you."

Natsume merely hummed in response. After a few moments though, Nyanko-sensei spoke again, with a deliberately casual tone. "Hey, Natsume."

"Yes?"

"Have you been returning names recently?"

Natsume raised an eyebrow. "This again?"

Nyanko-sensei let out a long-suffering sigh. "Just answer the question, you ungrateful brat."

Curious as to why Nyanko-sensei was adamant on his answer, Natsume decided to appease him. Although he was willing to bet that once he gave his answer, Nyanko-sensei would launch another one of his customary, long-winded rants. "Well, two last week."

As predicted, Nyanko-sensei dramatically rolled his eyes and began waving his paw in irritation. "Stupid Natsume! Really? I'm going to inherit an empty book at this rate, Natsume! What do you say about that, huh? How are you going to compensate me? How about you think of that for once?"

To which, Natsume waved off his concerns. "Yes, yes, Nyanko-sensei."

"Don't 'yes, yes' me!" Nyanko-sensei mimicked. He swished his tale in vexation. This conversation was just reviving the rant from earlier-as well as the feelings of irritation that it brought. This brat was going to be the end of him. _Damn it._ He was getting off track.

Visibly calming himself down, Nyanko-sensei huffed with exasperation. "And? How did it go? Were they difficult? Did either of them attack you?" He turned to level a sardonic glare at him. "I don't know if you remember this, but you _do_ have a bodyguard. And it would be considerate of you to, I don't know, _mention_ this to a _certain_ bodyguard. Hmm?"

Natsume crinkled his face in confusion. It was rare of Nyanko-sensei to invest so much interest into what happened when he returned the names or even weirdly yet, to _inquire_ about his safety. He asked curiously, "No, it went fine. There was nothing to worry about. They were some of the lower level youkai. Nyanko-sensei…is something wrong?"

Nyanko-sensei sent another annoyed glare towards Natsume. He ignored Natsume's question and continued, "Were those two the only youkai you met last week?"

Natsume's perplexity only grew at Nyanko-sensei's strange question. He opened his mouth to demand an answer but stopped at Nyanko-sensei's warning glance. For once, Nyanko-sensei seemed uncharacteristically serious. A little exasperated, Natsume answered, "Well, they were the only ones who asked for their names back. But there were some others I met on the road who I helped too, I guess. Plus, then there are the usual youkai that we always meet in the field, remember?"

Nyanko-sensei stared at him in disbelief. He spluttered with outrage, "Y-you guess? Oi, I didn't ask for an estimate. Be more specific! How many more did you meet with? What type of youkai were they?"

Natsume stared back at him with a mixture of confusion and slight irritation. "Nyanko-sensei, you know I see youkai frequently. I can't remember all of them. Why are you interrogating me about this?"

Nyanko-sensei snapped, "I'm not interrogating you. These are all things I'm supposed to know in the first place. In fact, you're supposed to tell me, _without_ me asking!" He bristled with obvious offense. "Sheesh. I bother to do this and what do you do? Be difficult."

Natsume stared at him in surprise. "You were never concerned about this before."

Nyanko-sensei directed an annoyed look at him. "This is my job, you know. Stop looking so surprised. It's insulting." He turned and jabbed his paw into Natsume's face, much to Natsume's alarm and displeasure. The sudden movement caused the bike to swerve for a moment before Natsume regained control.

"Sensei! Don't do that! We're still on the bicycle."

Nyanko-sensei, undeterred, continued jabbing, enunciating each word with a well-aimed poke. "Appreciate. Me. More. "

Natsume rolled his eyes. He was about to counter with a sharp retort of Nyanko-sensei's eating and drinking habits when a sudden memory of last night surfaced.

He bit his lip. Nyanko-sensei had stayed up with him, hadn't he? He called him out of the nightmare, going so far as to transform into his original form. Nyanko-sensei had comforted him, when he desperately needed someone to and Natsume knew that to do so was probably out of Nyanko-sensei's usual comfort zone. Now to think of it, Natsume had not thanked him yet, had he?

"Sensei. Thank you."

"You ungrateful brat! You- Wait, hah?" Nyanko-sensei had all been too ready for a smartass remark to come his way, but did he hear right? The kid was _thanking_ him, not arguing with him?

He started in surprise as Natsume reached out to rub behind his ears. Natsume continued, this time in a softer voice, "Thank you, Nyanko-sensei. For being there for me last night."

With that, Nyanko-sensei deflated and instead turned to rub against Natsume's fingers, which in turn, made Natsume laugh. It was hard after all to stay mad at the brat when he looked like that, complete with a light grin and a sincere gaze. He sighed. "I wasn't talking about that, you know."

Natsume merely continued petting him. The two continued on in silence before Nyanko-sensei said, "Hey, Natsume ~? "

Natsume stopped and stared at him with slight wariness at the familiar mischievous gleam in Nyanko- sensei's eyes and his sly smirk. "Yes?"

"If you really want to thank me," Nyanko-sensei continued, this time thumping Natsume's hand with his paw. "Then thank me with food! Not with words! Ooh, buy me some of those manju buns again!"

Natsume shook his head. He really should have expected this. With a fond grin, he gave in, "Yes, sensei."

He bit back another laugh at the sound of Nyanko-sense's excited holler.


	5. Chapter 5

Up ahead at the bridge, Natsume saw Nishimura and Kitamoto already standing there. They spotted him and waved him over. Nishimura had a wide grin on his face. He yelled, "Hey, Natsume! What took you so long? We almost left you, you know."

Kitamoto nudged Nishimura, but had on an equally playful grin. "Don't be so hard on Natsume. I'm sure he has a busy schedule."

Natsume had a sheepish smile on his face. "Sorry. Actually, I overslept."

At that, Kitamoto laughed and Nishimura, with a mock look of disapproval, said, "Tsk, tsk. Natsume. I see how it is."

Kitamoto laughingly shook his head as Nishimura began dramatically lamenting on Natsume's obvious neglect of his best friends. Kitamoto clasped Natsume' shoulder and joked, "Let's go ahead Natsume. We can leave this emotionally distraught idiot behind instead."

With a slight grin, Natsume played along and pretended to get back on his bike along with Kitamoto. Predictably, with an offended pout, Nishimura directed his next string of complaints towards Kitamoto. "Whaa? You're leaving me behind? You're so cruel, Kitamoto. Did all those years of friendship mean nothing to you? Huh? Nothing?"

With a wink, Kitamoto gestured for Natsume to start pedaling after him. At that, Nishimura yelled out, "Oi! Oi! You're really leaving me? How mean. No, but seriously, wait up!"

Natsume and Kitamoto both laughed as they heard Nishimura pedaling behind them, still hollering.

The three continued to trade jokes as they rode their bicycles.

"Hey, Nishimura! Don't spread the tablecloth over there! There's an ant hill over there." Kitamoto shook his head a little exasperatedly.

Nishimura only gave him a mock salute, and said, "Yes, sir!"

While Nishimura and Kitamoto were trying to set up an area to eat on the grassy hill, Natsume was unpacking the containers of food that Touko-san prepared for him in his backpack. He smiled as he remembered her panicked expression when he told her that his friends were planning to have a picnic after the bike ride.

Although Natsume tried to reassure her that he could just pick up some snacks, Touko-san refused and proceeded to cook what quite honestly looked like a five course meal. He sighed as he saw Nyanko-sensei practically salivating at the sight of food. Natsume placed his hands over the containers a little protectively. He admonished, "Sensei, these are not all for you. Ok? You have to share."

Nyanko-sensei humphed at Natsume's comment. "Hey, I'll have you know that I do have table manners. Besides, I'm just looking. I haven't even done anything yet!"

Natsume only shook his head and said, "Uh-huh."

Nyanko-sensei scowled, "Oi, Natsume! I'm sensing a distinct lack of trust here."

Natsume shrugged his shoulders. At that, Nyanko-sensei leaped up at Natsume, fully intending to hit him on the head. The two then proceeded to quarrel with each other, much to Nishimura's and Kitamoto's amusement.

Nishimura laughed, "Having a hard time with your cat there, Natsume?"

Natsume immediately stopped as Nyanko-sensei proceeded to waddle off, leaving Natsume alone to explain the situation. After shooting a quick glare at Nyanko-sensei's passing form, Natsume turned to face his friends, cheeks blushing a little in embarrassment. "Ah, he's hungry, so he was being a little difficult. Did you guys set everything up yet?"

Kitamoto grinned at the explanation. He then nodded, and jabbed his thumb towards Nishimura. "No thanks to him."

Nishimura retorted back, "Hey, I was doing all the work here! You're the one who kept telling me to move it."

"Because you kept putting it on the patches of dirt instead of the grass. Honestly! Why did you even bring a white tablecloth, out of all things?"

"Hey, it's my tablecloth! So why are you the one concerned?"

Natsume laughed, which effectively ended the two's argument. He commented, "You guys really are close friends. You guys even argue like a married couple."

Nishimura widened his eyes comically. "Natsume! Were you even listening to how this guy mistreated me?"

Kitamoto snorted and walked forward to Natsume, ignoring Nishimura. "Here, let me help you bring out the dishes. Wow, Touko-san cooked a lot. You carried all of that in your backpack?"

At hearing that, Nishimura's eyes lighted up in anticipation. He reached his hands out towards them. "Ooh, let me help too!"

The three then proceeded to set out the dishes. Natsume turned and called out, "Sensei! We're eating now!"

Those apparently were the magical words. Nyanko-sensei suddenly shot out of nowhere and barreled into Natsume's arms, catching him off-balance. The two tottered backwards and fell onto the spread tablecloth, earning hearty guffaws and shrieks of laughter from Nishimura and Kitamoto.

After that little tumble, a lecturing Natsume, and a deeply unapologetic Nyanko-sensei, the four began eating. Nishimura and Kitamoto continued bickering while Natsume was content to just listen and interject with his own comments. Currently, Nishimura and Kitamoto were fighting about some music idol while Natsume was fending off Nyanko-sensei from the food.

Natsume whispered-yelled, "Sensei! Stop it! I already gave you a lot!"

Nyanko-sensei hissed back, "What do you mean 'a lot'? Your definition of a lot is my definition of very little. No wonder you're so skinn-" He stopped midsentence and swiveled to his left, eyes narrowing.

Confused, Natsume asked, "Sensei? What's wrong?"

Nyanko-sensei kept his eyes trained on a particular spot and sniffed the air. "I smell youkai."

Natsume immediately tensed his body. After quickly checking to confirm that Nishimura and Kitamoto were still distracted, he continued to whisper, "Sensei? Where?"

As Nyanko-sensei waved a paw towards the wheat fields below the hill, Natsume could begin to make out patches of flowered fabric and black and white robes. As the wind brushed away the tall stalks, thereby revealing the individuals who stood there, Natsume's eyes widened in recognition. "It's Hiiragi and Hinoe," Natsume noted with some surprise.

As if they heard, Hiiragi and Hinoe both raised their heads and stared up at the hill, making eye contact with Natsume. Natsume then made a move to get up. He stopped midway through when he saw Hinoe gesturing for him to sit back down. At the same time, Hiiragi, who was standing next to her, was making a sign for 'pig'.

Ah, I get it. Natsume nudged Nyanko-sensei. He whispered, "Sensei, they want you. Go and see them."

Nyanko-sensei curled his lip in distaste. "Don't wanna."

"Sensei."

Nyanko-sensei rolled his eyes and mimicked back, "Natsume."

Natsume sighed. "I'll give you a chicken leg if you go."

Nyanko-sensei immediately brightened and responded, "Make it two and you got a deal."

With another exasperated sigh, Natsume held out two chicken legs, which Nyanko-sensei instantly snatched away. Natsume watched him as Nyanko-sensei trotted towards Hiiragi and Hinoe. He wondered. What did the two want with Nyanko-sensei? It was also a little unusual for Hiiragi to be there. Ah, but that also meant that Natori-san was around too. Natsume hoped that it was not an indication of trouble.

"Natsume? What are you staring at so intently over there?" Kitamoto asked curiously.

Startled, Natsume whipped his head around to face his friends again. As he desperately searched for an excuse, Natsume stammered, "I-I was just looking at the fields. They, um, look really pretty from here."

Thankfully, Kitamoto believed him and even eagerly agreed, "Aren't they? This is a great place to look at the sunset too."

Nishimura interjected with, "You know what would make this scene more beautiful?"

Natsume, relieved that the conversation had changed, asked, "What?"

Nishimura spread open his arms and exclaimed, "If there were some girls here too!"

Kitamoto groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Seriously, Nishimura?"

In response, Nishimura stood up and plopped down next to Natsume. Slinging an arm around Natsume's shoulders, Nishimura asked in a beseeching tone, "Natsume~! Why didn't you ask Taki to come? Huh, whyyyy?"

Natsume laughed and shrugged his shoulders apologetically. "She said she was busy. Maybe next time, Nishimura."

Nishimura moaned and laid splayed out on the table cloth. "Man, watching the sunset with two other guys is so lame."

Kitamoto rolled his eyes and snorted. "Hey Natsume, can you give me another paper plate? I think they're behind you."

Natsume nodded. "Sure." Still sitting, he half-turned to the side, eyes sweeping the white tablecloth for the plates before a spot of bright red caught in his peripheral vision.

The snow. The blood. Red. Red.

The images of his nightmare replayed in his mind. Before Natsume realized it, he yelped and his body reflexively recoiled from the sight. A burst of adrenaline sent his heartrate racing. By the time Natsume had acknowledged his reaction, he also realized that the red that he saw was the pile of red paper napkins that Nishimura had brought. He had reacted so irrationally.

Nishimura, at hearing Natsume's yell, sat straight up and turned towards Natsume, hands already on his shoulders and asking him repeatedly, "Natsume. Natsume. You ok, man? What happened?"

Kitamoto, on the other hand, had stood up and walked towards them. He stretched his neck to peer behind Natsume and saw nothing behind him but the napkins and the plates. He asked, "What scared you, Natsume?"

Natsume, still breathing hard, said without thinking, "The napkins. Their color."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Natsume widened his eyes in panic and turned to Kitamoto. Kitamoto, from the corner of his eyes, could tell that Natsume probably blurted out something he did not want to say. He and Nishimura knew that Natsume was prone to some odd outbursts or incidents here and there, and they suspected that it had given Natsume a lot of grief in the past. But they didn't care about that. Everyone was different. And Natsume was fine the way he was. Although, Kitamoto inwardly wished that Natsume could open up a bit more with them, but he supposed that it would probably take some time.

So Kitamoto made sure that his expression was devoid of any reaction or expression that could be seen as ridicule and that his body was relaxed as he struggled to think of a way to calm down Natsume, who, quite frankly, looked too troubled for his liking.

To Natsume, all he saw was Kitamoto still standing there, looking at the napkins with his head tilted to the side. Before Natsume could speak up and explain his words, Kitamoto said, "Oh, I get it. You thought it was blood." After saying that, Kitamoto secretly sent a pointed look at Nishimura.

Natsume stilled, speechless. Wha-? Did he hear right? How did he kno-?

Nishimura inwardly shrugged, years of friendship allowing him to understand the cue for what it was. Truthfully, he did not really care what scared Natsume as to how to stop him from looking so scared. Playing along, he fixed on a skeptical expression and commented, "Hey, Kitamoto. That's…a little morbid of you."

Kitamoto glared. "What? Natsume must have watched the same TV special I saw last night. You know the horror one? Man, there was this one scene." He shuddered. "Blood everywhere." He poked the pile of napkins with his toe and continued, "Plus, those napkins really are red. And the white tablecloth does not help."

Nishimura rolled his eyes. "Stop dissing my tablecloth! How was I supposed to know the both of you watched some horror show last night?" He turned to Natsume, a look of concern returning to his eyes, "Hey, Natsume. Maybe you should stop watching those if they scare you so easily." He paused, staring at Kitamoto. "Actually, on second thought, maybe the two of you should stop. Right, Natsume?"

Natsume, relieved and a little confused that his friends had somehow figured out an explanation on their own, gave a weak smile. He clutched at his chest, willing his heart rate to slow down.

Kitamoto narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "Hey, Natsume, you sure you're ok?"

Nishimura turned back towards Natsume and gave an assessing glance. He stuck out a hand and felt Natsume's forehead, ignoring Natsume's protests of "I'm fine!"

"Hmm, you don't have a fever. So you're not sick." Ignoring Natsume's harried and exasperated look, he continued, "But you look pale. Well, paler than usual, anyways."

Kitamoto elbowed Nishimura in the side for that unnecessary comment. He reached out across the tablecloth and grabbed a water bottle. Pushing it into Natsume's hands, Kitamoto said, "Here, drink some water first. You look a little tired."

At Kitamoto's insistence, Natsume nodded and took a few sips of water.

To be honest, Natsume was starting to feel a little bad that his overreaction had his friends clearly worried. His expression must have proved revealing, because the next thing Natsume knew, Kitamoto reached out and gripped Natsume's shoulder. "Natsume, if you can't make the bike ride down, it's fine, ok? Nishimura can give you a ride on his bike and I'll just bring yours down."

Nishimura nodded in agreement. "Yea, I'll just give you a ride dow-Hey! Kitamoto, don't just volunteer me out like that!"

Kitamoto raised an eyebrow and made a Why-are-you-being-an-idiot? expression. "What? You're not going to? Oh? And to think, you gave the whole rant earlier on the duties of a best friend. Look who's being the horrible friend now, huh? If it bothers you that much, I'll do it."

Natsume laughed a little, recognizing that Kitamoto was deliberately provoking Nishimura. Nishimura, though, took the bait and pivoted to face Kitamoto. "Hey! I didn't mean that I'm not going to. I just meant that I'd prefer it if Natsume asked me himself than you ordering me to! Actually, you know what? You didn't even have to order me. I would have done it anyways!"

With a huff, he turned to face Natsume again, this time with a more serious look. "Natsume, seriously though, I'm cool with it."

Natsume smiled. "I'm fine though. Honest."

When his friends only sent him a doubtful look in return, Natsume sighed. With a pleading expression, he tried to convince them, "Really, guys. I'm fine."

Nishimura and Kitamoto exchanged a look and after a moment of silent deliberation, they both nodded in mutual agreement over something. Kitamoto turned to Natsume and said, "Ok, then. We'll start cleaning up. You just sit there, ok?"

Nishimura grinned and clapped Natsume on the back, "Yup! Relax!"

Natsume scrunched up his face and made a noise of protest, but at the sight of Nishimura's and Kitamoto's matching grins, he resigned himself to sitting.

Meanwhile, when Natsume had bribed him with the chicken, Nyanko-sensei, while admittedly enjoying the chicken thoroughly, huffed with irritation. He sighed as he got closer to the two of the most annoying youkai he ever had the misfortune of meeting.

Hiiragi, in her usual reserved manner, greeted him with a simple, "Pig-cat." At the same time, Hinoe had an irritating smirk on and said airily, "Oh? Madara, took you long enough to get over here."

Make that the most annoying and disrespectful youkai that he ever had the misfortune of meeting. Nyanko-sensei muttered under his breath. Damn it, one of these days, he really would have to go on a rampage if only to release all the pent-up irritation that these stupid encounters always left him with.

He stopped in front of them and scowled to Hiiragi, "I'm not a pig, you idiot! Can your eyes not perceive the glorious beast that I am?"

Then, jabbing a paw towards Hinoe, he continued, "And you! You should be honored that I even bothered to grace you with my presence."

Turning to his head to the side, he grumbled, "Tcch. What am I? A messenger?" Glaring at the both of them, Nyanko-sensei said crossly, "And? Why are the two of you here, besides dragging me away from my feast?"

Hinoe rolled her eyes and puffed her pipe, before answering, "Please, Madara. You can't really expect compliments in that form." She waved an immaculate hand in a dismissive gesture. "Besides, we probably did Natsume a favor by dragging you away. It's his picnic with his friends, not your feast. You're getting a little too chubby anyways. Missing one meal won't hurt."

Nyanko-sensei immediately yelled, "What did you just say, you old hag? Chubby?! You must be blind if you can't appreciate my magnificent physique."

Hinoe narrowed her eyes and snorted with derision. "Physique? You must be getting old, Madara, if you're mistaking that fat for muscle. And hah? Did you just call me a hag?! You uncultured furball!"

"What?!"

Before the two could start scratching at each other's faces, Hiiragi stepped forward and cleared her throat. "Ahem." The two immediately stopped mid-movement and stared at her, with Nyanko-sensei's paw pushing Hinoe's cheek and Hinoe's fingers pulling on one of Nyanko-sensei's ears. "Actually, Natsume is the reason for our presence."

At that, Nyanko-sensei, still keeping his pose, whispered to Hinoe, "Oi, why is she here again?"

Hiiragi answered instead, in frank tones, "Natori is here on business. I wanted to see how Natsume was doing. I did not see him at the house. So I asked around. I met Hinoe-san." She tilted her head slightly to indicate Hinoe's presence and continued. "She then informed me of what happened yesterday."

Nyanko-sensei leveled a bland stare at Hinoe, "You old gossiping hag."

She swatted him with the pipe, causing to jump backwards. Dusting herself off, Hinoe puffed the pipe. She rolled her eyes, "I merely answered her questions."

Before Nyanko-sensei could retort back, Hiiragi once again interrupted and asked quite bluntly, "Do you two always fight like this? It is a little tiresome." She faced Nyanko-sensei and raised an eyebrow- or at least that's what he imagined she would be doing if he could see through her mask, "So how is Natsume?" Nyanko-sensei could, however, clearly detect concern lacing her normally stoic voice.

Hinoe nodded her head. "Yes, how is he?"

Nyanko-sensei huffed, "You know, if you two are so concerned about Natsume, why not ask him yourselves?"

At that, both Hinoe and Hiiragi gave him an Are-you-kidding-me? Look. (Or at least, Hinoe did. That mask of Hiiragi really was getting annoying.)

Nyanko-sensei sighed. "Right. Kid never would have told you."

He laid down and began licking one of his paws, "Well, he's still a little shaken up by the nightmare. Or at least he was in the morning. But he's still able to go out and about his day. As you can see." Nyanko-sensei then gestured carelessly to where Natsume and his friends were laughing at their picnic.

"I already asked him if there were any suspicious youkai. He said that there weren't any. Well, as far as he recalled, anyways." He snorted. "That kid has a shoddy memory. It was just a bad nightmare. Kid probably stressed himself out, like usual."

Nyanko-sensei, at hearing the lack of response from the two youkai, raised his head up only to see the two looking shocked. He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Hiiragi was the first to recover from her speechless daze. She gave a slight bow of her head. "I misjudged you."

Hinoe agreed. "Who knew?"

Nyanko launched to his feet in a burst of outrage. "Oi! Is it so weird for me to take interest in the brat? I am his bodyguard." He muttered under his breath. "Ungrateful fools. The whole lot of you. Completely. Ungrateful."

Hinoe argued defensively, "Hey, you usual-"

Just then, the three all heard Natsume's yell.

Nyanko-sensei instantly perked up his ears and sensed Natsume breathing hard and his heartbeat accelerating. He inwardly cursed at just how troublesome the kid was before running in that direction.

Hiiragi, by reflex, already had her hand on her weapon and exchanged a glance with Hinoe, who looked as equally alert.

The two then followed after Nyanko-sensei. They stopped when they saw Nyanko sitting down beside a tree a couple of feet away from Natsume and his friends.

Hiiragi scanned the area warily while Hinoe nudged Nyanko lightly with her toe. "Hey, what happened?"

Tersely, Nyanko replied, "Kid overreacted." He jabbed a paw in Natsume's direction, where two of Natsume's friends were hovering over Natsume worriedly. "Listen."

Hiiragi and Hinoe both then eavesdropped on the conversation as they listened to the reason for Natsume's panic. After learning about the napkins, Hinoe leaned against the tree and took a slow drag from her pipe. Tilter her head, she exhaled and commented, "That nightmare really did affect Natsume more than I expected."

Hiiragi gave a slight nod in agreement and observed, "Natsume has a rather soft heart…" She trailed off before continuing, "but… are you sure this is unrelated to youkai matters?"

Nyanko only shrugged both his shoulders in response.

Hinoe suddenly smacked her fist against her palm. "Ah, I've got it!"

Both Nyanko and Hiiragi then turned to face Hinoe with expectant looks. Nyanko gestured impatiently, "Well? Out with it. I don't have all day."

Hinoe ignored that comment and declared, "Let's have a stake-out."

Hiiragi asked, a little surprised, "A stake-out?"

Hinoe nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! We'll watch over Natsume tonight. We'll see if he has another nightmare and if there really is something supernatural about this. Plus, we'll have a third opinion with you there too."

At that, Hiiragi nodded but hesitantly asked, "Would Natsume not mind us being there?"

Hinoe expected that question though and answered with lips curving in a sly smile. "We'll just tell him we're there to drink sake with Madara. Drinking parties happen frequently enough for Natsume to not question our motives. What about it, Madara?"

Nyanko-sensei grinned. "You had me at sake."

Hiiragi then bowed and made to leave. "Very well, then. Let me inform my master first. I'll meet you there." With that, she promptly disappeared.

Nyanko-sensei tilted his head back at Hinoe. "Well, the kids are getting their bikes. You coming, you walking flower garden?"

Hinoe twirled her pipe through her fingers and flippantly answered back, "Yes, yes, you cranky cat."

After saying his goodbyes to Nishimura and Kitamoto, who had both insisted on riding with him to the front gate of his house, Natsume turned around and finally addressed the two extra guests with him. One had been following him since the hilltop. The other had almost scared him half to death when he saw her waiting at the gate. Natsume sighed. He had a strong feeling that trouble was coming his way. He turned and greeted them. "Hinoe. Hiiragi. What brings you both here?"

Hinoe laughed and waved her hand. "We thought we would share a drink with Madara here. You know, for old times' sake."

A look of surprise and amusement crossed Natsume's face. "Hiiragi, I didn't know that you got along so well with Nyanko-sensei."

Hiiragi grimaced under her mask and forced out, "Yes…well…things change."

Hinoe surreptitiously nudged Hiiragi. Then, in a loud voice, she hurriedly said, "Well, we'll go get some cups and take out the sake." With that said, Hinoe and Hiiragi walked ahead.

Nyanko-sensei rolled his eyes. The most terrible acting he had ever seen. A pair of idiots, the two of them were.

Natsume must have had the same thoughts because he asked, "Er, sensei. Is it just me or are they acting a little strange?"

Nyanko-sensei snorted. "Ignore them. Since when have they been anything but strange?"

Natsume shrugged and accepted the answer. He was admittedly feeling a little too exhausted after the day's events to press the issue anyhow. Still, he turned to Nyanko-sensei and warned him, "Sensei, I have school tomorrow."

Nyanko-sensei waved his paw dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I know. We'll keep it down." At Natsume's skeptical glance, he sighed. "We won't be in your room then, if you're so worried. How about that? We'll drink on the roof or something."

Natsume figured that it was the best compromise he was going to get, so he nodded his head in agreement and said, "Have fun then, sensei."

Hinoe lounged on the rooftop, a couple of feet away from Natsume's window. Flinging an arm towards the sky, she exclaimed, "Ah, the stars are beautiful today, too." She smiled and took another drink of the sake.

"Hear, hear!" Nyanko agreed, flopping back side down on the tiles. His paws gripped the sake bottle as he took a healthy swig. "Ah! The sake is great tonight!" He smacked his lips together in an overly satisfied manner.

Hiiragi, on the other hand, still held her untouched cup of sake in her hands. She remarked a little dryly, "…You guys are actually drinking? Are we not on a stake-out?"

Nyanko waved his paw a little haphazardly. "Of course we are! But we told Natsume that we were drinking. So, you know, for authenticity, we gotta drink."

Hinoe made a noise of agreement. "Here, let's make a cheer and hope that nothing bad will happen tonight!"

Hiiragi sighed, exasperated, but held out her cup anyways.

"Cheers."

"Cheers!"

"Cheers, morons!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, yup. This was my first fanfic ever. I still love this anime, but this work is currently on hiatus due to um, procrastination and lack of active plot bunnies at the moment. I'm really fond of the characters in this series though, so I'd love it if I can finish this story some time in the future, but we'll see ^ ^
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read this story regardless! X)


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